A false confidence in the power of the state to guarantee stability has developed. Some investors have come to believe that, whatever mistake they make, they have a right to their profits, and the authorities will enforce it. The rescue of Bear Stearns, the two GSEs and AIG will only fuel this belief. But if some people have made bad investments and are relieved from their responsibility for their own mistakes, it only means that the cost will be transferred to others, probably through a worse crisis.
Guaranteeing large financial firms from failure will bring calls for regulating them still more tightly. This is an old story: past political interventions create the reasons for new ones.The present financial turmoil is really a failure of global statism. Socialism has failed once again. Let’s try capitalism. FULL ARTICLE
{ 19 comments }
I suspect that Bin Laden and his cronies (what’s left of them) are celebrating. With only a platoon of soldiers, he was able to destroy Capitalism. The destruction of the World Trade Center was the ignition of an implosion that is about to culminate.
It is beyond belief that our lawmakers are apparently going to choose socialism over the Constitution. Welcome to serfdom.
It is a national travesty for those who live well within their means and save a good portion of their income. We have the most to lose in the future State. Our economic liberty is at stake and few people act like they care. I am having an immensely difficult time discerning whether our “leaders” are either ignorant or part of the desire to transition to socialism. In either case, they are culpable enablers of the “crisis” and the impending degradation of economic liberty.
this article is right on target. as a 30 year veteran of the residential mortgage business in the united states, it is obvious that the fundamental problem in this country stems from the activities of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve, the three most statist institutions in the history of mankind. people keep claiming that the current situation is a failure of capitalism. i continue to ask these same people what Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Reserve have to do with capitalism? The answer is clearly nothing. jr
Statism is likely in our genes because we instinctively deal with other people, not abstract ideas like markets. Maybe it is time for lovers of liberty to realize what we are up against? Thank you for trying to educate us.
Markets are, in fact, dealings with other people. Statism is “inherent” because some people are too shortsighted to understand emergent systems like the market (and here is where abstraction does come into play) or because some benefit by acting as parasites. Nothing new. Pity the dupes who buy into it though.
Markets are, in fact, dealings with other people. Statism is “inherent” because some people are too shortsighted to understand emergent systems like the market (and here is where abstraction does come into play) or because some benefit by acting as parasites. Nothing new. Pity the dupes who buy into it though.
Dear Pierre
I don’t see your email in this article. I want your permission to translate the article into Spanish and post it in my blog and send it by email.
I am so pissed by the comments of our Latinamerican presidents (did you hear Cristina Kirchner?) that I would lose some work time just to spread your word.
Please send me a YES to gussosa@montevideo.com.uy
Hug
Gustavo
Gustavo – his e-mail address is listed under his photo on the right side of the page next to the article.
There is a great deal of “confusion” as to what capitalism and unregulated financial markets are. The widely accepted “conventional wisdom” accepts the view that interventionism is capitalism and U.S. central, privileged by government, fractional-reserve banking, is unregulated banking. Therefore, the “conventional wisdom” does not hold regulation and privilege as being the root cause. Nor is the intervention of government in the monetary system considered by those with “conventional wisdom”.
Reality is, capitalism and the unhampered market, has never been tried – only blamed Only fraudulent banking is known in the modern world. How can they have failed? It is interventionism, that is government and the hampered market, that has failed. Unfortunately, the holders of “conventional wisdom” cannot see this. Until the “conventional wisdom” changes, we can only expect more of the same.
Why doesn’t someone interview former Enron executives now in prison? Or these executives’ lawyers? Their “take” on present goings-on would be interesting.
Mary Diane,
Great idea! Fun too. Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer pegged as the mastermind behind the complicated financial schemes that ultimately doomed Enron, got six years. You can try to get on his email list:
http://www.bop.gov/inmate_programs/trulincs_faq.jsp#5
Otherwise, here is Fastow’s snailmail address:
ANDREW FASTOW
INMATE # 14343-179
FDC OAKDALE
FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 5010
OAKDALE, LA 71463
What questions will you ask? Do you think he will respond (he probably has not much better to do!)?
Others have questions?
Thanks Ajax. I have just sent him the email directly.
The first time I landed in this page. The second time I was able to find his profile.
Moses prevented his Civil Servants, the Levites, from owning property, and made them retire at age 50-Basil Liddell-Hart suggests 45, so their decisions would not be compromised either by bribes nor by atherosclerosis, as are those of the American Bureaucracy, Congress, the Presidents, and the Judiciary. Lenin was urged to adopt the John Dewey System, based on Bullying and Cultural Deprivation, similar to Psychological Deprivation, a known form of torture. John Dewey was summoned into a Kremlin Office, and behind the desk, sat the Soviet Dictator, Vladimir Lenin. He stated, Mr. Dewey, we appreciated your political support, and I admit your System’s graduates are docile. But we receive new threats every day from all points of the globe, so we need graduates who can do mathematics, science, and engineering, to build weapons for self defense, and your systems graduates cannot do these. So, Mr Dewey, we cannot use your system. So Good Day, Mr. Dewey. With that, John Dewey was escorted out of the Kremlin and Soviet Consideration forever. The United States needs to do the same. Atherosclerosis, the John Dewey system base on bullying and Cultural Deprivation, and Bribes may be why the US Government cannot fail, as well as tolerance of Domestic Terrorism: in addition to the Capitalism-Militarism (Bureaucrats) Dichotomy. It is well known that the US system is based on a disguised form of Fascism. See Ludwig von Mises’ book, “Omnipotent Government.” Prior to the US entry into WWII, the Rockefellers, Walkers and Bush’es supported the Nazi Fascists.
Great article, Mr. Lemieux, congratulations.
Reading it remembered of an old quote, very applicable to the present situation:
“The bureocracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureocracy”
I meant “bureaucracy”, not “bureocracy”.
I agree that the market is a natural system which emerges without human intervention, as does nature itself. Nature has always been feared and so have markets; and for the same reason, they cannot be predicted.
If memory serves, F A Hayek pointed out that we only have the choice of putting our fate into the hands of an unpredictable and unfeeling market or into the hands of other people. In every case the choice has been other people, to our endless detriment.
I see that France’s Sarkozy has joined the interventionist cheer squad too. So much for those who voted against socialism in the recent elections…
From Townhall.com:
“Self-regulation as a way of solving all problems is finished. Laissez-faire is finished. The all-powerful market that always knows best is finished,” Sarkozy said.
Wow! The Leftist propaganda machine has succeeded in brainwashing the gullible and weak. And, hey, some of them manage to be heads of state. I suppose now they can be officially labeled as ‘brainless’. I do believe that the battle for true unfettered liberty and laissez-faire economics must continue. Lovers of liberty: don’t give in, don’t give up! Time to shine the light of truth on the pillagers.
Here’s some fresh air amidst this fetid mess…….
…………………………………………………………………
My Atlantis
My Faith, Will and my Human Mind together
Blew the lid off this world and its Sin,
I built my Atlantis, that glowing Light,
Come live in the universe that I am in.
Be clean of heart and pure of Mind
To enter my dimension,
If all you have is cunning wit,
Then you won’t have Ascension.
It’s devoid of deceit, there is no envy,
There’s no pain, no fear, no guilt,
Unearned Love does not exist here,
Happiness the core, of this Shangri-La I built.
Life is the standard of Existence,
Any life-form, no matter how small or weak,
Yes, Life’s the standard, your own the purpose,
It will not be inherited by the meek.
Look around at my universe,
At the achievements of unfettered Man,
Integrity’s the steel, from which we built,
There are no castles in the sand.
Our brilliance outshines the sun’s golden rays,
We obey nature and her wondrous laws,
Reality is our sounding board,
And there is no Effect without a Cause.
Atlantis lives in the souls of men,
It’s not a mythical Camelot,
It’s a world of shiny spires and gallant knights
Amidst the purest freedom of thought.
Comments on this entry are closed.